OP_032317

54 | March 23, 2017 | The orland park prairie sports
opprairie.com
Providence hockey meets New Trier again in state finals
Brittany Kapa, Assistant Editor
For a moment, lady luck
was on Providence Catholic’s
side.
Then, the skills that took
the Celtics to their secondstraight
state title game fell
just short.
For the second year in a
row, Providence faced New
Trier Green in the Amateur
Hockey Association of Illinois
Red Division Championship,
held Friday, March
17, at the United Center.
The Celtics hoped this
year they could steal the
title from New Trier, which
had bested them in this past
year’s bout. But history repeated
itself for Providence,
as the Celtics fell to New
Trier by a final score of 4-2.
“Obviously, it’s a great
thing the Hawks do,” Providence’s
Jake Vennetti, of Orland
Park, said of the experience.
“It’s awesome to play
here.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,
but hopefully the guys
can come back next year and
get the first Red title.”
New Trier’s Michael Graham
scored first, with help
from Kyle Retondo, and the
team took an early lead.
Hayden Wieczorek was
solid in net for New Trier, as
he shut down the few chances
Providence had in the first
period.
Tinley Park’s Ryan Iaciancio,
Providence’s goalie,
faced 18 shots in the first period
alone and only allowed
that single puck past him.
New Trier’s Charles Burton
scored early in the second
period, when he picked
up a rebound that popped
out in front of Iaciancio. The
team led 2-0 for another 5
minutes and 30 seconds.
The Celtics felt the St.
Patrick’s Day love, when
midway through the second
period the referees sent up a
delayed penalty signal. New
Trier pulled Wieczorek for
the man advantage.
But as defenseman Gavin
Randle attempted to clear the
puck in his own zone, Michael
Massaro’s forecheck
pressure was enough to rattle
Randle. Randle tried to transition
the puck from his forehand
to his backhand, and in
doing so scored on his own
team in the empty net.
Providence was awarded
its first goal of the night.
Massaro gained the unassisted
credit.
“That was like an ‘Oh,
wow,’ moment,” New Trier
coach Robert Melton said.
“In a game like this, you
can’t let it bother you. We
just said, ‘Hey, it happened.
It was a mistake. Let’s go.’”
Melton added that his
team rallied around Randle,
and John Robinson gained
the goal back with just 1:50
left in the second period.
New Trier led 3-1 heading
into the third period.
“We got back in the locker
room and we rallied,” Massaro
said. “We decided we
weren’t going to go down
without a fight. They definitely
had our number early,
and we got back in the locker
room — really took a couple
of deep breaths — got a little
bit of rest and got back at it.”
Providence’s energy was
noticeably different during
the third period, and
the team hit its stride. Passing
improved, and the team
showed why it made it to the
United Center for the second
year in a row.
“We finally played like we
had talked about playing —
about being aggressive and
trying to force the play,”
Providence coach Nick Iaciancio
said. “I think the
first period we really stood
around and watched, and we
were trying to pick off passes
instead of trying to create
Providence Catholic’s Jake Vennetti, of Orland Park, celebrates a goal against New Trier Green Friday, March 17, during
the finals of the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois’ Red Division tournament at the United Center in Chicago.
Carlos Alvarez/22nd Century Media
turnovers.”
Vennetti broke through
Wieczorek’s brick wall with
13:32 left in the third period,
with help from Jake Rott, of
Orland Park, and Jake Lawler,
of Frankfort. The Celtics
trailed just 3-2 with plenty of
time in the third.
“I thought that was ours,
there,” Massaro said about
Vennetti’s goal. “Momentum
is huge in this sport. I
figured we’d get a couple
more shifts with that line out
there and we could get another
goal.”
A golden opportunity
arose when Robinson was
called on a slashing violation,
giving the Celtics a
power-play opportunity. The
team had plenty of good
looks, but nothing seemed
to get through. New Trier dialed
in on the team’s powerplay
line and shut it down.
“We knew how good
the Providence power play
was,” Melton said. “We
worked on the penalty kill
all week. We scouted them
and knew what they did. I
thought they did a fabulous
job, because to hold them to
one goal is pretty good.”
Melton added to keep
players like Rott and Vennetti
in check was a huge accomplishment
for his team.
With the clock quickly
ticking down, the Celtics
were forced to pull Ryan Iaciancio
out of his net for the
man advantage. Providence
was unable to maintain control
of the puck, and Graham
netted his second goal of the
night with just 27.5 seconds
left in the game.
New Trier came away
with the 4-2 victory. The
team ended its season having
never been beaten by an Illinois
high school team, and
besting Providence in all five
of the teams’ matchups.
“I told the guys it will
sting today and tomorrow,
but come Monday and Tuesday
I think they’ll realize
that 54-9 and a single-digit
loss and five losses to one
team — a team that didn’t
lose to anyone in Illinois
all year — it’s a pretty good
year,” Nick Iaciancio said.
When asked about what
makes New Trier such a
powerful team to overcome,
Nick Iaciancio credited the
team’s depth and the physical
size of the players.
“We have a couple of guys
that weigh 125 pounds,”
Nick Iaciancio said. “So
when they put their shoulders
down they’re just going
to push us around. ... It’s a
difference in programs, too.
We had 42 kids at tryouts;
they have 120 kids at tryouts.
It’s an uphill battle.”
Nick Iaciancio added that
this team left its mark, and
having made it to the championship
game two years in
a row speaks volumes about
the skill of the team and the
players’ ability to work together.
“They’ve left a pretty big
legacy,” Nick Iaciancio said.
“I think with Vennetti, Rott
and Ryan, I’m sure when the
day comes they’ll be in the
Providence Sports Hall of
Fame.
“You throw in some of the
other kids like [Josh] Mooncotch,
[Kevin and Shane]
Horan, and Massaro, who
were kids that were on our
JV team and didn’t have
such a prominent role. They
played great; they’ve really
helped and they’ve been
those secondary players for
us that have really gotten us
to this point.
“You can’t get there on
just a goalie and one line.”